The handling of parts small enough to require assembly under optical magnification requires highly specialized tooling. For example, in the manufacture of fiber optic sensors on traction drives for small optical scanners, it is necessary to install (and possibly remove) fiber optic connectors less than a half-millimeter in diameter in inaccessible locations without scratching the optical coating on the fiber. This operation requires a needle-like tool of minimal diameter capable of gripping and releasing the handling tang of a fiber optic connector in a narrow space.
Prior art in this field includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,551,043 to Moses, which uses spring-released clamps to grip a pan; U.S. Pat. No. 2,615,181 to McGaughey and U.S. Pat. No. 3,195,380 to Bicks in which a wire is held between two open jaws against spring pressure; U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,790 to Dupuis which shows a circuit board pin puller using a wedge action to grip the pin but with a mechanism not suitable for minimalizing the tool diameter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,565 to Boudreau et al. which shows a contact insertion probe with no operating mechanism; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,955 to Daniels and U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,736 to Fieberg et al., in which a contact insertion tool holds the contact between two open jaws under spring pressure.